Strike

At the risk of sounding cliche and jumping on the bandwagon, I feel I need to comment on the on-going strikes in the country. I haven't really been very affected by these strikes. Apart from the fact that we can't seem to get any further with home affairs regarding my apparently non-existent ID application, I (plainly) couldn't care less whether people strike or not. I don't know anyone who is in a government school and has had exams postponed, I don't need to get hold of any public servants to be able do my job, and I don't need to go to a government hospital, even if there were a medical emergency.

But I was reading the front page of the Sunday Times yesterday, and realised that this is really getting out of hand now. People are actually being turned away from hospitals and some have even died. A woman had to have an emergency cesarean and without any help in the operating theatre, the doctor couldn't save the baby.

That just makes me angry.

More angry at government than at the strikers I think. Most of them just want to have a decent amount of money to live off. (I am not referring to those inciting violence and intimidating those that want to go to work). And it seems like the only way government will listen in this country is if you strike. (Though it seems as though even that is not helping this time).

OK. So the government doesn't have money. Never mind the fact that we were (proudly) under budget last year. By I don't know how many million. My colleague was complaining today about how these government officials drive these fancy cars and earn millions, and how they're not the ones who have to go to government hospitals, and their children don't go to government schools, so they are not affected by this. It's the ordinary poor man and woman on the street. He doesn't believe for a second that the government doesn't have enough money. People are sitting at the morgue and hospitals unable to bury their dead because they can't get death certificates from home affairs. That's horrific.

I'm VERY unproudly South African today.